Paper solitude
by ciastulek
Summary: “…but for tonight, if only for once, she would simply listen to Oliver...” / One shot / post Stiletto


**Author: ciastulek****  
****Title: Paper solitude****  
****Fandom: Smallville****  
****Characters: Chloe Sullivan/Oliver Queen ****  
****Word Count: 1764****  
****Rating: PG13****  
****Summary: "…**_but for tonight, if only for once, she would simply listen to Oliver..."_

Warning/Spoilers: A/N: This is not my first Chloe/Oliver fanfic ever written but first one posted, and posted without beta reading (blame it on an impulse). So please, kindly overlook all the grammar, punctuation and linguistic issues (English is not my native language). If you can't – please, don't read… or give me a hand ;)

"_So, what time is there? Three, four o'clock in the morning? Burning the midnight oil just for me? I'm touched Watchtower_…" she heard his footsteps echoing through the empty warehouse's corridors.

"You'd better not be on my duty. Focus!" Chloe forced back her smirk ,willing her voice to be warning "I've had enough of qualms lately…" she cursed a moment after, she realized she had actually muttered this out, if only under her breath. "Speaking of - you've got two heat signatures heading your way from the first corridor on the left. Be nice there"

"_I'll do my best_"

"I meant neutralizing them, not blowing out" he snorted in mocked offence in response, just before she heard a whizz of two arrows, one close after the other and a low thud of collapsing bodies.

"_Eavesdropping, huh? I wouldn't have pegged you for that…_" she smiled a little at his evident amusement.

"Hey, I'm Watchtower for a reason, right? Now, you should be at the doors to the archive room. Look for any file related to Bette Sans Souci as a whole name or any single part of it." she cut the upcoming tirade.

"_You sure this is it?_" by the sound of metal wheels sliding, she could tell Oliver was already in the room, rummaging through the files.

She'd spent the whole afternoon and the good part of the night working on the latest JLA loots, wrapping up few weeks of her research. Every now and then, members of her team happened to come across 33.1 rumps. They've been bringing all remaining data to her. In spite of the fact, that Lex was dead and his successor was officially on Oliver's side, there was something in this, that she couldn't quite put her finger on. More and more files happened to be connected to one another, despite their different origins. Same words or names popping up, way too often to be called a simple coincidence. At least to her. Rest of the boys dismissed Chloe's doubts but her mind was already set on solving this puzzle. She picked up the project with a zeal that surprised everyone, except herself. She knew exactly why she needed this distraction so desperately. Chloe had surrounded herself with tons of paper walls, because she needed her focus anywhere else than on her own life. Well, than a place two floors below her apartment to be exact. She would rather be paranoid with work than with…

"_Negative Tower_" his voice, distorted by her earpiece, cut through the dangerous course of thoughts. "_Nothing directly related. The closest, and the only, thing would be some folder with 'bss plastique' label. Does that ring any bell_?"

Her attention peeked up instantly. BSS were the initials of one of the meteor freaks gone mysteriously missing from Belle Reeve lately. Giving that Bette's ability was to explode forces from her body, the 'plastique' label actually made sense…

"More than one actually…" she whispered processing all the implications of her discovery "but I need to see it before I'll jump to any conclusions. It still might be some company's file. Tess runs many businesses, after all"

"_Hey, isn't that Boy Scout's line?! Man, I leave for two weeks only and there you go, jumping back to hanging around again. No wonder you're such a mess…" _

His teasing words hit Chloe out of the blue and her vision blurred instantly. Living on the edge for past few weeks took its toll on her finally. Giant lump filled her throat as the mess, her life had become, charged furiously back at her with gut twisting flashes:

Her attacker's body, disappearing behind cellar's doors…

His horrible cries hideously squashed…

His flesh, squishing in her trash bags…

The blood on her hands…

and then Davis' eyes…

and Clark's…

and the ever constant fear.

It made her so sick all over again that she bit at her fist to muffle the threatening sob. Hot tears stung her eyes. She couldn't even take a breath without betraying her unexpected breakdown. 'Get a grip!' she thought desperately when she heard him pause for a second.

"_Watchtower…?_" concern creeping in his voice at the lack of her immediate response "_what's your status?_"

Chloe grabbed the communicator frantically from her ear and braced herself against the desk as the violent shudders took over her. She felt her blood pumping in her head as the waves of long suppressed emotions were rolling over her body. Disgust. Anger. Pain. Panic. Despair. Helplessness. And finally - the fear. Above all. Dread taking over her small body so strongly that it left her almost paralyzed. She saw Oliver's heat signature leaving the building unharmed, after few minutes and only then, she let herself cry. Hardly and whole heartedly. Cathartic sobs were escaping her gradually, almost methodically as she was fighting back for control, breathing hard, painful breaths. Her steely determination enclosing slowly back her inner turmoil, leaving only bitter taste in her mouth.

She felt so numb when her cell phone started ringing, displaying Oliver's ID. She closed her eyes and reached for it, biting on her lower lip she flipped it open to her ear.

"_**What the hell were you thinking disconnecting in the middle of a mission like that?!!"**_ she cringed at the yell of her boss and a leader of superheroes team.

"I'm so sorry Oliver" she knew her feeble voice took him of guard. "It won't happen again" she couldn't even muster any lie, still struggling with the overtaking numbness. She met long silence as he paused.

"_What's going on Chloe_?" her breath caught a little at the softness in his voice, and she felt the tears creeping their way back into her eyes. No good. "_You should know by now, that you can tell me anything, right?"_ She knew. She knew all too well, how easy it was to open up to him and, for a single heartbeat, she actually considered confiding in him, unburdening her heart and forgetting about the whole world weighting on her shoulders.

"_Chloe… What have you gotten yourself into…?_ " but at hearing his voice dropping down few tones with worry, she knew better than to let Oliver Queen start suspecting anything. "_Just please don't tell me it's some kind of that Clark's alien stuff again…_" Exactly.

"Whoa there cowboy! I really do love your inclinations for philanthropy but I think helpline delivered personally by Queen Industries' CEO is definitely not something I'm ready for, yet…" It never ceased to amaze her how easily old habits could kick in. She could already feel herself taking over, her mental armor crawling its way back in place. 'Nothing good, ol', snarky air can't fix…'

"_In case you didn't notice -_ _you really don't want to annoy me right now. Trust me…_" she could almost see him punctuating the words slowly, through clenched jaws. Chloe threw her head back on the rest of her sofa and closed her eyes with heavy sigh. She felt so drained.

"C'mon Ollie, you should know I'm pretty capable of messing up my life, without anyone's help, before you go-my-older-brother-on Clark… " she smiled a small smile, looking down at the empty ring mark on her left hand. "It was… personal…"

She hoped her marriage – 'ex-marriage' she corrected herself sadly - issues would seal the subject. For some reason he felt extremely awkward on this matter, so she went for it blindly.

"_I understand._" He provided after a moment of silence. His voice quite placated but not entirely convinced. "_You know Chloe, if you need a company… or an ear, or even a shoulder to cry on… mine is pretty available…"_ his clumsy reproach, or as close to clumsy as the rich and famous Oliver Queen could ever get to, left her speechless with her mouth hanging open. "_I mean, blowing out buildings is not the only thing I do best, you know…" _

Her brows shot up as she closed her mouth abruptly, trying not to laugh out loud at his lame attempt to save face. She found that actually touching…

"Well, I couldn't tell. Never really had a chance to examine the famous Queen charm personally..." Was she flirting with Oliver Queen, her boss and her cousin's ex-boyfriend?! Chloe couldn't stop the giggles anymore and, after a second, she heard his low chuckle joining her own. Surrealism of the situation left her almost completely carefree for a moment.

"Thank you Oliver." She spoke softly looking around her apartment. Stacks of papers were littering almost all of the floor and walls as well - her favorite way of working through the mass of information. Cut from the rest of the world by her research, she could reach out almost anywhere, paradoxically. "You've given me something far more better than your shoulder. Distraction. Trust me, that's more than enough."

"_Well, then I guess, I'm glad not to be totally useless?"_ A wide grin spread on her face.

"Don't worry about that pretty boy. It looks like you're going to be very busy if the file you found confirms my suspicions."

"_You really think Mercy is up to something?"_ his voice all professional again.

"Too many coincidences leading to her. Looks like our team might have a little competition gathering under your ex's protective wings…"

"_I'll send Bart over with the file so you can make sure. We'll see in a few days then. Wouldn't want to miss a party like that, now would we, huh?"_ she smiled, infected by his eagerness to serve the justice.

"And why do I get the feeling it will be us getting this party started…?"

"_Cause you're Watchtower for a reason…?" _he mocked her playfully_ "So… going to tell me what's wrong with this shoulder of mine…?_"

Chloe rolled her eyes chuckling airily "_Sorry goldilocks, no ego boosts tonight_."

"_Aww! Night Sidekick. Have some rest!_"

"Night boss".

Chloe disconnected her cell slowly, not aware of the soft smile, still lingering on her lips as she stared absently at the fireplace in front of her. She closed her eyes and sighed contently, resting her head back on the sofa. She'd let herself bask in the cozy, snug comfort. She just wasn't sure if it was the bickering flames right before her or his soothing, confident words that caused the warmth and peace spread slowly throughout her body... 'She'd let herself rest just a moment', Chloe thought drifting leisurely into darkness. Tomorrow she would let her paper fortress tumble down again, but for tonight, if only for once, she would simply listen to Oliver.


End file.
